Snow White Hills Blood Bowl Chronicles

I'd seen eighteen winters when first I took a berth on the Fortune's Kiss. A sturdy ship she was, speed rigged and expertly manned. Her master was Captain Reiner, a Marienburger with sea spray in his veins, if not for his skill, you wouldn't be hearing this tale. Through some secret yet doubtless epic feat of bravery, betting on exactly what it was being a favoured pastime of the Kiss' crew, the Captain had managed to secure a full deck of Dwarf cannon and an engineer to oversee them. Logan Druminsfind was not fond of the ocean, but he'd have given his life in a second for his beloved cannon, or so I thought soon after being introduced to him. Captain and Engineer both surprised us all before the end. On a trading voyage off the coast off Bretonnia, I saw my first, and I hope by Sigmar's grace my last, Black Ark of the Dark Ones. Sometime during third watch the entire crew was roused and called to quarters. As we stumbled to our posts, we saw it picked out by moon's light on the horizon. It moved like a mountain with sails. We could feel the swell of its passage though it was still long leagues from us. Closer by far were strange castles that sped across the surface of the deep, drawn by hideous sea serpents that still give me nightmares. They roared as they came on, their bellows echoing across the waves, and I think many of the crew gave themselves up for lost but Reiner would hear none of it. He took the wind and held it, giving them a running battle that was to last till dawn. Time and again they would draw near and Druminsfind's gunnery would drive the beasts off. I've never seen such sailing or such shooting, yet always, they remained near us. As the sun touched the horizon, Druminsfind left his guns to speak with the Captain. I don't know what he said, but Reiner obviously didn't like it. Nevertheless, to our astonishment, four cannon and most of the ship's powder were placed in a long boat along with the Dwarf. He looked all of us in the eyes, one by one as he prepared to set off, and his final words are still etched in my heart. 'Better this, lads, than ever being caught by them.' As he rowed off, he began to sing in the hard secret language of the Dwarfs and though I didn't know the words, I knew it was a martial song. When the serpent ships drew near him, he set fire to his beloved cannon. The explosion killed one at least and caused the rest to scatter. That was all that Reiner needed to bring the Fortune's Kiss out of danger. I've never seen a Dark One, only their damned ships, but that was more than enough.: — Kurlass, Sailor